We have a quiet week with only two films opening this weekend, those being Fast Five and Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil. Both are based off of prior movies so let's see which one looks better.
Fast Five
The fifth movie in the Fast and the Furious series brings back the original crew with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker at the helm. Vinny and Walker have been fugitives on the run since Walker helped Vin's sister (Jordanna Brewster) break him out of custody. They realize the need to do one last big job in Rio de Janeiro before they can finally obtain their freedom. They assemble the crew to match up against a corrupt businessman who wants them dead and a federal agent who has been chasing them down. Can they pull off this one last job...? Well I don't mean to ruin this for anyone but this wont be the "last" job because they are already working on a script for Fast Six. Also, as if there wasn't enough muscle heads in this series already, "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson will be playing the agent pursuing Vinny and Walker. Also starring in this movie will be "Ludacris" Chris Bridges. I have watched a few of the movies in the series and they are only ok in my book. This one looks action packed but I'm not rushing out to the theaters to see it. On the Viewability Scale I would give it 5 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.fastfivemovie.com/
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
So in this animated movie we have the return of Red and the Wolf, along with the other characters like grandma, out to make the world a safer place. Their mission in this one is to locate the missing children Hansel and Gretel. You may have heard of them before...you know the bread crumbs and the witch that likes to bake little children? Anyways I didn't see the first one but I imagine it will be a good movie if you're under the age of 7. Which means I probably wouldn't like it that much even though I act like I'm that age sometimes. On the Viewability Scale this movie would get 3 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://hoodwinkedtoomovie.com/
So to recap this week's opening movies we have:
Fast Five - 5 Ninja Stars
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil - 3 Ninja Stars
Next week we have 3 movies opening which are Thor, The Beaver, and Jumping the Broom. I am super pumped for Thor but we will see how it looks next week. Please comment on the movies above if you see them and kindly do it in a way that doesn't ruin them for everyone else.
-Diomedes
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Box Office Recap-April 25th, 2011
This weekend the box office made some sense for once, with Rio holding over the top spot. Children's movies often hold strong until there is competition, and Rio is proving to be no different. Rio made a strong $26.8 million according to AP estimates. That represents a very strong number, even better when its the films second weekend. In second and third place were two of the weekends wide releases, Madea's Big Happy Family and Water for Elephants. Big Happy Family did typically strong Tyler Perry numbers making $25.7 million. Water for Elephants did a surprisingly strong $17.5 million in revenue, this is a solid number for the type of film that it is. It shows Robert Pattinson has a solid leading man fan base and bodes well for his post Twilight career. Hop and Scream 4 rounded out the top 5 with $12.5 million and $7.2 million respectively. African Cats made $6.4 million and fell into 6th place, not a great number but about the same as the other annual Disney Earth Day movie releases.
Next week we get a decent amount of new releases, and they should unofficially start the summer box office with a bang. The main competition will be between Fast Five, Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs. Evil, and holdover Rio. We also get ensemble comedy Prom, so the young crowd should have a lot to choose from. I predict Fast Five will drive over the competition in route to a number one spot, followed by Rio, Hoodwinked Too, Prom, and Madea's Big Happy Family.
Next week we get a decent amount of new releases, and they should unofficially start the summer box office with a bang. The main competition will be between Fast Five, Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs. Evil, and holdover Rio. We also get ensemble comedy Prom, so the young crowd should have a lot to choose from. I predict Fast Five will drive over the competition in route to a number one spot, followed by Rio, Hoodwinked Too, Prom, and Madea's Big Happy Family.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Opening this Weekend - 4/22/11
This week we have a few different genres to select from. We have the comedy Madea's Big Happy Family, a drama with Water for Elephants, and a documentary in African Cats. Let's take a look at their storylines.
Madea's Big Happy Family
Tyler Perry resumes his role as Madea, a grandmother and matriarch of the family, in this comedy. Madea's niece Shirley gets bad news about her health and wants to get her children together to tell them about it as a family. This proves troublesome because all three of her children have problems of their own. Madea decides the only way to make this happen is to grab the reigns herself and get everyone together. This is like the 10th Madea movie that Tyler Perry has made (does he like to dress up like a woman that much?). I have seen none of them so I am unable to judge how this one will be. None of them have ever appealed to me when I watched the trailers and this one is no different. I think there is a very specific audience that would enjoy this but I am not one of them. My Viewability Scale is reading 2 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://madeasbighappyfamilymovie.com/index.html#/trailer
Water for Elephants
This movie is based on a very popular book about a veterinary student who quits his studies after his parents are killed to travel with a circus as their vet. Robert Pattinson stars as the vet and it seems like while traveling with the circus he falls in love with one of the circus performers, Reese Witherspoon. Christopher Waltz is also among the cast as the circus ringleader. It looks like a love story which will have something fatally wrong befall one of the two love birds. I think a lot of Edward fans will come to see Pattinson in this role. The amount of tickets will then double because we all know those girls are going to drag along their boyfriends as well for a nice romantic movie. I would say that it would get about 5 Ninja Stars out of 10 on the Viewability Scale.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.waterforelephants.com/
African Cats
This movie is a documentary on three different cats from the land of Africa. It follows a lion cub trying to grow up in her mother's footsteps, a mother cheetah trying to provide for her 5 cubs, and a patriarch lion as the leader of the pride defending his high place of authority. This movie is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson so don't surprised if there are some sweet phrases being thrown out during the movie. I wouldn't see this film in theaters but I will definitely see it when it comes out on DVD. Even if it's not good you have to appreciate the laws of nature and the beauty of the wild. I would give this movie4 Ninja Stars out of 10 on the Viewability Scale.
Check out the trailer at:
http://disney.go.com/disneynature/africancats/
So to recap we have:
Madea's Big Happy Family - 2 Ninja Stars
Water for Elephants - 5 Ninja Stars
African Cats - 4 Ninja Stars
Next week we have 3 movies, those being: Prom, Fast Five, and Hoodwinked: Hood vs. Evil. If you see any of the movies above please comment in a way that doesn't ruin the movie for others. Thank you.
-Diomedes
Madea's Big Happy Family
Tyler Perry resumes his role as Madea, a grandmother and matriarch of the family, in this comedy. Madea's niece Shirley gets bad news about her health and wants to get her children together to tell them about it as a family. This proves troublesome because all three of her children have problems of their own. Madea decides the only way to make this happen is to grab the reigns herself and get everyone together. This is like the 10th Madea movie that Tyler Perry has made (does he like to dress up like a woman that much?). I have seen none of them so I am unable to judge how this one will be. None of them have ever appealed to me when I watched the trailers and this one is no different. I think there is a very specific audience that would enjoy this but I am not one of them. My Viewability Scale is reading 2 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://madeasbighappyfamilymovie.com/index.html#/trailer
Water for Elephants
This movie is based on a very popular book about a veterinary student who quits his studies after his parents are killed to travel with a circus as their vet. Robert Pattinson stars as the vet and it seems like while traveling with the circus he falls in love with one of the circus performers, Reese Witherspoon. Christopher Waltz is also among the cast as the circus ringleader. It looks like a love story which will have something fatally wrong befall one of the two love birds. I think a lot of Edward fans will come to see Pattinson in this role. The amount of tickets will then double because we all know those girls are going to drag along their boyfriends as well for a nice romantic movie. I would say that it would get about 5 Ninja Stars out of 10 on the Viewability Scale.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.waterforelephants.com/
African Cats
This movie is a documentary on three different cats from the land of Africa. It follows a lion cub trying to grow up in her mother's footsteps, a mother cheetah trying to provide for her 5 cubs, and a patriarch lion as the leader of the pride defending his high place of authority. This movie is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson so don't surprised if there are some sweet phrases being thrown out during the movie. I wouldn't see this film in theaters but I will definitely see it when it comes out on DVD. Even if it's not good you have to appreciate the laws of nature and the beauty of the wild. I would give this movie4 Ninja Stars out of 10 on the Viewability Scale.
Check out the trailer at:
http://disney.go.com/disneynature/africancats/
So to recap we have:
Madea's Big Happy Family - 2 Ninja Stars
Water for Elephants - 5 Ninja Stars
African Cats - 4 Ninja Stars
Next week we have 3 movies, those being: Prom, Fast Five, and Hoodwinked: Hood vs. Evil. If you see any of the movies above please comment in a way that doesn't ruin the movie for others. Thank you.
-Diomedes
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Box Office Recap-April 17th, 2011
I was a little off with my prediction again, but it's not my fault, its that of the movie going public. Last week I was way off predicting Your Highness would rule when it settled for a 6th place opening. This week I thought Ghostface would return to great success with Scream 4, but instead it was the animated film Rio that took the top spot with $40 million according to the AP. Scream 4 took a disappointing $19 million for second place. Expectations were much higher for the 4th film in the Scream franchise and it opened to less than Scream 2 and Scream 3, so it appears people weren't craving more Scream as much as the studio had hoped. Maybe this will keep Saw 8 from opening in 2020. The rest of the top 5 belonged to holdovers Hop, Soul Surfer, and Hanna. In limited release The Conspirator about the trial of a woman for harboring John Wilkes Booth, opened to very good numbers in limited release.
Next week we get three new wide releases that may have some very different affects on the box office. Opening next week are Madea's Big Happy Family, Water for Elephants, and the usual Earth day nature documentary entry, African Cats. Tyler Perry movies are notoriously hard to predict for the box office, as things like lack of marketing or lack of quality don't keep people away. Next week though I predict Rio holding on to the number one spot, followed by Big Happy Family,Water for Elephants, Scream 4, and Hop. Its hard to tell what Water for Elephants will do as it looks like an adult drama, but should bring the Twilight fans out in droves to see Edward......I mean Robert Pattinson. Check back later this week for a DVD breakdown and Diomedes' breakdown of the weeks new releases.
-Maximus
Next week we get three new wide releases that may have some very different affects on the box office. Opening next week are Madea's Big Happy Family, Water for Elephants, and the usual Earth day nature documentary entry, African Cats. Tyler Perry movies are notoriously hard to predict for the box office, as things like lack of marketing or lack of quality don't keep people away. Next week though I predict Rio holding on to the number one spot, followed by Big Happy Family,Water for Elephants, Scream 4, and Hop. Its hard to tell what Water for Elephants will do as it looks like an adult drama, but should bring the Twilight fans out in droves to see Edward......I mean Robert Pattinson. Check back later this week for a DVD breakdown and Diomedes' breakdown of the weeks new releases.
-Maximus
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
New DVD Review-Love and Other Drugs
I was unsure what kind of a movie Love and Other Drugs would be, the previews for the film either looked Notebook like hardcore romance, or romantic comedy shenanigans. What it turned out to be was one of the best films I have seen since Oscar season ended. Love and Other Drugs is the story of Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal), a smooth, good looking, med school drop out who uses his charm and good looks in whatever job he currently has. He takes a job working as a pharmaceutical salesman during the Viagra and Zoloft boom of the late nineties. His charm and looks as well as his willingness to use women's attraction to him make him an instant success in the business. But then he meets Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway), a beautiful young women who also has early onset Parkinson's disease. Right from the beginning she is different to Jamie than other women he has been with, and she is not one who attaches easily. She knows that she'll continue to get sicker and sicker and she does not want someone to have to take care of her down the road. We see the relationship move from awkward beginning to something more, and eventually we see them as the reality sets in that eventually Maggie will have more symptoms then just tremors. The question then becomes how willing is Jamie to deal with her disease, and how willing is she to let him? The film gets an Oscar worthy performance from Hathaway, but it is Gyllenhaal's movie from the beginning and he nails it. The film also gets great supporting performances from Hank Azaria and Oliver Platt. The movie got a lot of publicity for its nudity, but the nudity fits in with the story and doesn't bog the film down. By the end of the movie I was very irritated with the character of Jamie's brother, who lives with Jamie despite selling his company for $32 million. He is a typical romantic comedy supporting character who is used to make the main character more attractive and for some comedic moments that don't really fit with the rest of the film. But other than that character the movie is terrific and touching and keeps you interested from the beginning. I give it 8 Ninja Stars out of 10, which is high praise, and highly recommend it.
-Maximus
-Maximus
Monday, April 11, 2011
Box Office Recap-April 11th, 2011
Wow is really the only thing I have to say about the box office this weekend. Things really got turned upside down and my predictions couldn't have been more incorrect. Hop easily won the weekend for the second straight time with over $21 million according to Ew.com and the AP. Hop continues to be a huge success and is really rolling along. There is a good chance that it won't slow down much either as Easter is still two weekends away. In second place, with a dismal $12.6 million was Arthur, the Russell Brand led remake of the classic Dudley Moore film. Arthur's expectations were set much higher than this, and with so many other new releases on the horizon, its hard to see Arthur holding up at all. In third place was Hanna with $12.3 million. While Arthur's total was below expectations, I think expectations for Hanna were much more tempered and this total represents a modest success. Marketing a film based on a 14 year old assassin is a tough sell and any total that puts it on track to make its money back has to be considered successful. In fourth place was the under marketed based off a true story Soul Surfer, about the young girl whose arm was taken by a shark, but who still surfs to this day. The film made $11 million, which returns over half of its $18 million cost. In fifth place was the horror film Insidious, in its second week it made just over $9 million. The big surprise for me was what happened in 6th place, my 1st place predicted film Your Highness, bombed completely and made only $9.5 million. This is a huge failure for the heavily marketed film. Both Hanna and Soul Surfer had far fewer marketing opportunities and both out grossed Your Highness. Its hard to tell if the films R rating kept people away, but the preview for the film made it look quite funny and it has an all star cast for a comedy. Overall it is a real shock to see Your Highness bomb in the way that it did.
Next week we get two more new releases, the animated film Rio and the franchise reviving Scream 4. My prediction sure to go wrong is that Scream 4 will win the weekend, followed by Hop, Rio, Soul Surfer, and Arthur. Check back later this week for reviews of Never Let Me Go, Your Highness, and Hanna, as well as Diomedes' weekend preview.
-Maximus
Next week we get two more new releases, the animated film Rio and the franchise reviving Scream 4. My prediction sure to go wrong is that Scream 4 will win the weekend, followed by Hop, Rio, Soul Surfer, and Arthur. Check back later this week for reviews of Never Let Me Go, Your Highness, and Hanna, as well as Diomedes' weekend preview.
-Maximus
Friday, April 8, 2011
Opening This Weekend
It's a big weekend for the film industry bringing 5 movies to the big screen. Will the theaters reap the benefit or will it just be a regular old weekend at the cinema? Let's take a look at what is being offered.
Your Highness
This is a comedy starring James Franco, Natalie Portman, and Danny McBride who embark on a Princess Bride like quest. Franco is the perfect prince while his brother McBride is a complete slacker living off his father's bounty. Franco's bride-to-be is kidnapped by an evil wizard so the brothers set out to vanquish the wizard and save the damsel in distress. Portman, as a warrior woman, joins them on their quest for her own hidden reasons. This movie seems a lot like the Princess Bride, which I love, and has the potential to be hilarious. I like the cast and the time period so I feel like it will be a very funny movie. The critics haven't been giving it great reviews but as a comparison, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation wasn't given good reviews when it came out either (as it is now a cult classic). I would guess its Viewability at 7 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check the trailer out at:
http://www.yourhighnessmovie.net/
Arthur
Russell Brand's second movie in as many weeks is about a playboy billionaire living off of his parent's money. He has a huge fortune and a nanny (Helen Mirren) who basically takes care of everything he does. The problem arises when he has to make a choice between a prearranged marriage which will insure that he stays wealthy or the love of his life and risk poverty. It is supposed to be a romantic comedy. That being said I think this movie looks kind of lame. I don't think the love story will be good and the comedic value will probably be close to non-existent. I don't think Russell Brand can stand alone in a movie and be funny. I think it's the people he is paired with that bring out the laughs and there is no one in this movie that's going to help him in that department. I would guess the Viewability on this one is 4 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://arthurthemovie.warnerbros.com/index.html
Born to Be Wild
This is a documentary on saving orphaned orangutans and elephants. It is suppose to show the human bond with animals. They go through the steps it takes to obtain, rehabilitate, and release back into the wild the animals that would be doomed if left to nature. This will probably be a nice film to watch sitting on your couch relaxing some Sunday afternoon. I would not think it is a movie that needs to be viewed in the theater. I would give the Viewability 5 Ninja Stars out of 10 and recommend renting it when it comes out on DVD.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv2Af-H7ZnI (No Official Website)
Soul Surfer
This movie is inspired by a true story of a female surfer who gets her arm bitten off in a shark attack. She goes on to overcoming all her fears and gets back in the water to surf once more. It stars Dennis Quad, Helen Hunt, Craig T. Nelson, and Kevin Sorbo. I almost laughed when I read a synopsis on this movie and it said an "all-star cast". More like a "washed up cast" all pun intended. It seems like an inspiring story but do I want to watch it? Not one bit. Some people might say that is heartless but think about it for a moment. There are tons of these types of people out there that have come up against adversity or hardship and have triumphed over it. I just don't think we have to watch everyone of their stories otherwise they would only make movies specifically on these types of people. If it's interesting then I'm in. If it's about a surfer...not so much. On the Viewability scale I give this movie 3 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.soulsurferthemovie.com/page/the-movie.html
Hanna
Last but certainly not least we have Hanna. This movie stars Saoirse Ronan as a young girl trained to be a perfect assassin by her ex-CIA father Eric Bana. After living and training in Finland, her father sends her on a mission that takes her through the heart of Europe. Throughout her journey she is constantly dogged by agents sent out by an intelligence operative played by Cate Blanchett. As she nears her goal many things are revealed to her, opening her eyes to who she is and what she was trained for. I think this looks like the most intriguing movie of the 5 opening this week. I definitely look forward to seeing it and will review it after I do. I would give this movie 8 Ninja Stars out of 10 on the Viewability scale.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.hannathemovie.com/#/trailer
So the short of it is:
Your Highness - 7 Ninja Stars
Arthur - 4 Ninja Stars
Born to Be Wild - 5 Ninja Stars
Soul Surfer - 3 Ninja Stars
Hanna - 8 Ninja Stars
That was a long preview! For next week it seems all we have is Rio (which is great because I need to give my fingers a rest from all the typing today!). Please comment if you see any of the movies above and in a way that won't ruin it for anyone. Thank you. Now get out there and see some movies!
-Diomedes
Your Highness
This is a comedy starring James Franco, Natalie Portman, and Danny McBride who embark on a Princess Bride like quest. Franco is the perfect prince while his brother McBride is a complete slacker living off his father's bounty. Franco's bride-to-be is kidnapped by an evil wizard so the brothers set out to vanquish the wizard and save the damsel in distress. Portman, as a warrior woman, joins them on their quest for her own hidden reasons. This movie seems a lot like the Princess Bride, which I love, and has the potential to be hilarious. I like the cast and the time period so I feel like it will be a very funny movie. The critics haven't been giving it great reviews but as a comparison, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation wasn't given good reviews when it came out either (as it is now a cult classic). I would guess its Viewability at 7 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check the trailer out at:
http://www.yourhighnessmovie.net/
Arthur
Russell Brand's second movie in as many weeks is about a playboy billionaire living off of his parent's money. He has a huge fortune and a nanny (Helen Mirren) who basically takes care of everything he does. The problem arises when he has to make a choice between a prearranged marriage which will insure that he stays wealthy or the love of his life and risk poverty. It is supposed to be a romantic comedy. That being said I think this movie looks kind of lame. I don't think the love story will be good and the comedic value will probably be close to non-existent. I don't think Russell Brand can stand alone in a movie and be funny. I think it's the people he is paired with that bring out the laughs and there is no one in this movie that's going to help him in that department. I would guess the Viewability on this one is 4 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://arthurthemovie.warnerbros.com/index.html
Born to Be Wild
This is a documentary on saving orphaned orangutans and elephants. It is suppose to show the human bond with animals. They go through the steps it takes to obtain, rehabilitate, and release back into the wild the animals that would be doomed if left to nature. This will probably be a nice film to watch sitting on your couch relaxing some Sunday afternoon. I would not think it is a movie that needs to be viewed in the theater. I would give the Viewability 5 Ninja Stars out of 10 and recommend renting it when it comes out on DVD.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv2Af-H7ZnI (No Official Website)
Soul Surfer
This movie is inspired by a true story of a female surfer who gets her arm bitten off in a shark attack. She goes on to overcoming all her fears and gets back in the water to surf once more. It stars Dennis Quad, Helen Hunt, Craig T. Nelson, and Kevin Sorbo. I almost laughed when I read a synopsis on this movie and it said an "all-star cast". More like a "washed up cast" all pun intended. It seems like an inspiring story but do I want to watch it? Not one bit. Some people might say that is heartless but think about it for a moment. There are tons of these types of people out there that have come up against adversity or hardship and have triumphed over it. I just don't think we have to watch everyone of their stories otherwise they would only make movies specifically on these types of people. If it's interesting then I'm in. If it's about a surfer...not so much. On the Viewability scale I give this movie 3 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.soulsurferthemovie.com/page/the-movie.html
Hanna
Last but certainly not least we have Hanna. This movie stars Saoirse Ronan as a young girl trained to be a perfect assassin by her ex-CIA father Eric Bana. After living and training in Finland, her father sends her on a mission that takes her through the heart of Europe. Throughout her journey she is constantly dogged by agents sent out by an intelligence operative played by Cate Blanchett. As she nears her goal many things are revealed to her, opening her eyes to who she is and what she was trained for. I think this looks like the most intriguing movie of the 5 opening this week. I definitely look forward to seeing it and will review it after I do. I would give this movie 8 Ninja Stars out of 10 on the Viewability scale.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.hannathemovie.com/#/trailer
So the short of it is:
Your Highness - 7 Ninja Stars
Arthur - 4 Ninja Stars
Born to Be Wild - 5 Ninja Stars
Soul Surfer - 3 Ninja Stars
Hanna - 8 Ninja Stars
That was a long preview! For next week it seems all we have is Rio (which is great because I need to give my fingers a rest from all the typing today!). Please comment if you see any of the movies above and in a way that won't ruin it for anyone. Thank you. Now get out there and see some movies!
-Diomedes
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
New Movie Review - Sucker Punch
So I said I would see this movie in theaters and I'm not disappointed that I did. Granted, I'm not saying the movie was good because it really wasn't, but I also don't think it was terrible like the critics said. Being that I previewed this movie before it came out I'm not going to go into plot detail. What I do want to talk about is the things that irked me. Originally I thought the plot was a little shaky but I figured Zack Snyder would pull through for me like he did in 300 and Watchmen but he didn't. I thought, as I'm sure many others did, that it would be about a girl in an insane asylum falling into her dreams to escape the harsh reality of the situation she was in. The problem I had is that the story line goes into an alternate reality of where she is and then she escapes from there into the dream state where her and her friends are warriors. I thought that was just straight stupid and it basically ruined the movie for me.
I did kind of like the ending, which I won't reveal, and I also liked the way the beginning was shot. If you watch the movie you realize that Snyder is a master of the slow-to-quick motion of the action scenes and his mastery of graphics is phenomenal. His story writing on the other hand is majorly flawed (he wrote the story for this movie if you didn't know). So my two cents would be stick with what your good at Snyder and bring us more graphic novels with amazing visuals mixed with awesome fight scenes. Sadly, I would have to give it 4 Ninja Stars out of 10.
-Diomedes
Second Opinion
I, like Diomedes, was very excited for Sucker Punch, and when the reviews came out, I knew I was in to be disappointed, and I was. The film has a very cool opening, and the last twenty minutes or so is very good. However in the middle the film was spotty at best. It was visually amazing for short bursts when they would go to fight a dragon or disarm a bomb from a train, but then they would go back to the annoying "middle world" which wasn't real but also wasn't interesting. Of the five main girls, only two have any real acting ability, and the villain of the film only gets interesting in the last half hour when he goes off the handle. While I just praised the short bursts of great visuals, most of them were also a rip off of some other film. The robots looked eerily similar to those in I, Robot, and the orcs they fought are right out of Lord of the Rings. Overall this was a promising yet disappointing effort. I give it 4 Ninja Stars out of 10.
-Maximus
I did kind of like the ending, which I won't reveal, and I also liked the way the beginning was shot. If you watch the movie you realize that Snyder is a master of the slow-to-quick motion of the action scenes and his mastery of graphics is phenomenal. His story writing on the other hand is majorly flawed (he wrote the story for this movie if you didn't know). So my two cents would be stick with what your good at Snyder and bring us more graphic novels with amazing visuals mixed with awesome fight scenes. Sadly, I would have to give it 4 Ninja Stars out of 10.
-Diomedes
Second Opinion
I, like Diomedes, was very excited for Sucker Punch, and when the reviews came out, I knew I was in to be disappointed, and I was. The film has a very cool opening, and the last twenty minutes or so is very good. However in the middle the film was spotty at best. It was visually amazing for short bursts when they would go to fight a dragon or disarm a bomb from a train, but then they would go back to the annoying "middle world" which wasn't real but also wasn't interesting. Of the five main girls, only two have any real acting ability, and the villain of the film only gets interesting in the last half hour when he goes off the handle. While I just praised the short bursts of great visuals, most of them were also a rip off of some other film. The robots looked eerily similar to those in I, Robot, and the orcs they fought are right out of Lord of the Rings. Overall this was a promising yet disappointing effort. I give it 4 Ninja Stars out of 10.
-Maximus
Monday, April 4, 2011
Box Office Recap-April 4th, 2011
Wow, I actually was almost kind of sort of correct in my box office predictions. Hop and Source Code came in 1 and 2 as I predicted, from there I was wrong but at least I had 1 and 2 correct for once. Hop made over $38 million according to studio estimates. This is a very strong opening and actually is more than Rango made in its opening weekend, and Rango has gone on to be a huge success. Its hard to tell if Hop will hold up as well as Rango, but either way it looks like Hop will end up being a hit. Source Code made over $15 million to fall into second place. While not a huge number, it still represents a modest success as Source Code wasn't very expensive to make. In third place was Insidious with $13.5 million, the film beat my prediction and apparently drew enough people on very limited marketing. If the film had been marketed more heavily, I wonder how successful it could have been. The original Saw and Paranormal Activity opened to much higher numbers but were marketed all over the place. In fourth and fifth place respectively were Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 and Limitless, both continuing their successful runs. Sucker Punch continued to nose dive however, having the biggest second weekend drop this year on its way to $6.1 million.
Next week we have four more new wide releases as we gear up for the summer movie push. Your Highness, Soul Surfer, Hanna, and Arthur all open. My prediction is Your Highness will gather up enough to take over the number one spot, followed by Hop, Arthur, Source Code, and Hanna. Personally I am most excited for Hanna and Your Highness. Check back later this week for a review of Sucker Punch as well as Diomedes' breakdown of these four new films.
-Maximus
Next week we have four more new wide releases as we gear up for the summer movie push. Your Highness, Soul Surfer, Hanna, and Arthur all open. My prediction is Your Highness will gather up enough to take over the number one spot, followed by Hop, Arthur, Source Code, and Hanna. Personally I am most excited for Hanna and Your Highness. Check back later this week for a review of Sucker Punch as well as Diomedes' breakdown of these four new films.
-Maximus
Friday, April 1, 2011
Opening this Weekend
We have three movies opening this weekend and they are in three different genres which is great for movie goers. We have an action thriller with Source Code, a horror flick with Insidious, and a kid's movie with Hop. Let's get to it!
Source Code
This movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier who takes part in an experiment to find a serial bomber. The idea of the experiment is that they send Gyllenhaal into another person's body that was killed in one of the bombings (this one happens on a train in Chicago) to find clues to catch the bomber. The catch is that he only gets 8 minutes in that person's body. He keeps reliving this 8 minutes in order to find enough clues to stop the bomber from hitting his next target, supposedly downtown Chicago, which would make his prior bombings seem miniscule. There is also a love interest between Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan, who is a passenger on the train that was destroyed. This is the movie of the three released this weekend that I would be most excited to see. It looks suspenseful and Gyllenhaal is a pretty good actor. It's not a completely new concept (time travel to solve a mystery- 12 Monkeys, Deja-Vu) but it is a cool way of making a movie. I would put its Viewability at 7 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.enterthesourcecode.com/
Insidious
A happy family has an accident befall their oldest son, 6 year old give or take, that puts him into a coma type condition. When he is brought home, weird things start happening. The parents believe it's the house that is haunted but after bringing in a specialist they find out that it's not the house, it's their son. This movie was created by the same people that did Saw and Paranormal activity. They have their roots in the horror industry but will it by good or just another lame horror movie like Saw 2-6? It does have Patrick Wilson in it, who I have come to like as an actor but I don't think it's enough to get my go ahead to see it in theaters. Do I think it's worth renting and watching with the lights off? Absolutely because I'm sure there will be parts that will make you jump. My guess at the Viewability of this movie would be 5 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.insidious-movie.com/
Hop
The movie was made by the same people that brought us Despicable Me and is based around the Easter Bunny's son E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand). The idea is that E.B. is at an age where he can take over his father's job as the Easter Bunny but his real dream is to become a drummer in a band so he leaves without telling anyone and heads to Hollywood to follow his dreams. He finds a guy to take him in (James Marsden) who is a slacker like E.B. While this is happening, things are going a little crazy on Easter Island (home of the Easter Bunny if you didn't know). With the new vacancy, a usurping chick (little yellow chicken) plans a coup to overthrow the bunnies and create a realm where the chicks rule Easter. Originally I thought this movie looked lame. But after watching a few trailers, I think it will be a decent family fun type of movie. I will guess the Viewability would be 5 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.iwantcandy.com/
So to recap for this weekend:
Source Code: 7 Ninja Stars
Insidious: 5 Ninja Stars
Hop: 5 Ninja Stars
Next week we have five new releases being: Hanna, Soul Surfer, Your Highness, Born to be Wild, and Arthur. Next weekend should be a pretty good weekend for movies. If you see any of the movies previewed above please comment in a way that doesn't ruin the movie for others. Comments are highly welcome though!
-Diomedes
Source Code
This movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier who takes part in an experiment to find a serial bomber. The idea of the experiment is that they send Gyllenhaal into another person's body that was killed in one of the bombings (this one happens on a train in Chicago) to find clues to catch the bomber. The catch is that he only gets 8 minutes in that person's body. He keeps reliving this 8 minutes in order to find enough clues to stop the bomber from hitting his next target, supposedly downtown Chicago, which would make his prior bombings seem miniscule. There is also a love interest between Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan, who is a passenger on the train that was destroyed. This is the movie of the three released this weekend that I would be most excited to see. It looks suspenseful and Gyllenhaal is a pretty good actor. It's not a completely new concept (time travel to solve a mystery- 12 Monkeys, Deja-Vu) but it is a cool way of making a movie. I would put its Viewability at 7 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.enterthesourcecode.com/
Insidious
A happy family has an accident befall their oldest son, 6 year old give or take, that puts him into a coma type condition. When he is brought home, weird things start happening. The parents believe it's the house that is haunted but after bringing in a specialist they find out that it's not the house, it's their son. This movie was created by the same people that did Saw and Paranormal activity. They have their roots in the horror industry but will it by good or just another lame horror movie like Saw 2-6? It does have Patrick Wilson in it, who I have come to like as an actor but I don't think it's enough to get my go ahead to see it in theaters. Do I think it's worth renting and watching with the lights off? Absolutely because I'm sure there will be parts that will make you jump. My guess at the Viewability of this movie would be 5 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.insidious-movie.com/
Hop
The movie was made by the same people that brought us Despicable Me and is based around the Easter Bunny's son E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand). The idea is that E.B. is at an age where he can take over his father's job as the Easter Bunny but his real dream is to become a drummer in a band so he leaves without telling anyone and heads to Hollywood to follow his dreams. He finds a guy to take him in (James Marsden) who is a slacker like E.B. While this is happening, things are going a little crazy on Easter Island (home of the Easter Bunny if you didn't know). With the new vacancy, a usurping chick (little yellow chicken) plans a coup to overthrow the bunnies and create a realm where the chicks rule Easter. Originally I thought this movie looked lame. But after watching a few trailers, I think it will be a decent family fun type of movie. I will guess the Viewability would be 5 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Check out the trailer at:
http://www.iwantcandy.com/
So to recap for this weekend:
Source Code: 7 Ninja Stars
Insidious: 5 Ninja Stars
Hop: 5 Ninja Stars
Next week we have five new releases being: Hanna, Soul Surfer, Your Highness, Born to be Wild, and Arthur. Next weekend should be a pretty good weekend for movies. If you see any of the movies previewed above please comment in a way that doesn't ruin the movie for others. Comments are highly welcome though!
-Diomedes
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